Nearly 66 per cent voter turnout in phase 3 of LS polls: EC
New Delhi, Apr 23: Nearly 66 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the third phase of the Lok Sabha polls on Tuesday, the Election Commission said.
In the third phase, voting was held in 116 Lok Sabha seats, including all constituencies in Gujarat and Kerala, with BJP president Amit Shah, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and several Union ministers among prominent candidates in the fray.
Voter turnout in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections is 65.61 per cent till 8.00 pm, a mobile application launched by the EC said.
This was by far the biggest phase in terms of constituencies.
In the first two phases, election was held to 91 and 95 seats on April 11 and April 18 respectively. Election to 543 seats is being held in seven phases. The counting of votes will be on May 23.
The third phase of polls was marred with violence in West Bengal where a person was hacked to death in Murshidabad.
In Kerala, 11 deaths, all due to 'natural' reasons, were reported, Deputy Election Commissioner Sudip Jain told reporters here.
He said, out of the total 2.81 lakh ballot units deployed, 1593 were replaced. Similarly, out of 2.11 lakh control units, 1225 were replaced.
Of total 2.11 lakh paper trail machines, 4725 were replaced, Jain said.
He said this was by far the biggest deployment of paper trail machines since the concept was introduced after a Supreme Court directive in 2013.
"When a control unit or a ballot unit is replaced, the paper trail machines have to be replaced along with it. Thus the higher number of replacements," Jain said.
At least one control unit and one ballot unit make up for an electronic voting machine.
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My party will complete 5-year term, says CM Siddaramaiah
Mysuru (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday asserted that the Congress government would complete its five-year term, while sidestepping questions on whether he personally would remain in office for the full duration.
Addressing reporters here, he maintained that decisions on the leadership would rest with the party high command and refrained from giving a direct answer on his own tenure.
“Our party will complete five years,” Siddaramaiah said, when asked if he would complete a full term as Chief Minister.
On the issue of leadership, he reiterated that the final call would be taken by the party leadership, saying, “The high command will decide. There’s no point asking the same thing again.”
Indicating his readiness to travel to the national capital if required, he said, “If I am called to Delhi, I will go,” adding that he would seek an appointment with Rahul Gandhi if needed.
The talks on leadership change have intensified in the power corridor of the state where claims were made that Siddaramaiah would make way for his Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.
The Chief Minister also underlined that recent by-election victories in Bagalkote and Davanagere South assembly segment reflected public support for the government, stating that this clearly shows that people have appreciated the Congress government and its programmes.
The CM also dismissed the opposition’s claims, alleging they lacked strategy, and said local body elections would be conducted as per rules.
